About Music Hall

Geert Allaert was born in Menen in 1963 and grew up in an environment where entrepreneurship, creativity, and discipline were second nature. Music played a central role in his life from an early age: as a young boy, he joined the drum corps of the local wind band, took music lessons in Menen and Kortrijk, and played in various wind bands and ensembles. Later, he founded his own big band and continued his studies at the Conservatory of Ghent, where he studied ensemble playing as a trumpeter under Francois Glorieux, alongside Dirk Brosse and others. He also earned a master’s degree in Germanic philology from Ghent University.

That combination of musical expertise, a flair for language, and organizational talent laid the foundation for an exceptional career in the cultural sector. During his military service, he organized the first Flanders Film Festival at Pentascoop Kortrijk. Shortly thereafter, he made the move to professional live entertainment and founded Music Hall, initially as a promoter of international artists such as Dionne Warwick, Whitney Houston, Ray Charles, Shirley Bassey, Harry Belafonte, Barry White, and Michael Jackson.

Building on that strong start, Music Hall grew into an organization that thought big and looked to the international stage. Geert organized the first events at Flanders Expo, launched The Best of Proms, among other things, and built a solid reputation with arena operas and large-scale live spectacles. His true passion, however, lay in producing musicals, operas, and ballets: productions that combine artistic ambition with broad audience appeal.

He also played a key role in the revitalization of major cultural venues in Flanders. In 1994, he founded Flanders Eventhall in partnership with Roularta and Gimv. This initiative breathed new life into iconic venues such as Vorst Nationaal and the Stadsschouwburg in Antwerp. In Antwerp, the Stadsschouwburg was thoroughly renovated and expanded into the largest and, to this day, one of the most successful theaters in Flanders. In 2000, De Capitole in Ghent followed suit, reopening after twenty years of vacancy as a full-fledged theater with 1,700 seats, in an early example of cultural public-private partnership.

Under his leadership, Music Hall also brought major hit musicals to Flanders. Thanks to partnerships with international rights holders such as Cameron Mackintosh and The Really Useful Group, productions like *Cats*, *Les Misérables*, *The Phantom of the Opera*, *Romeo & Juliet*, *Oliver!*, and *The Wizard of Oz* were able to reach a wide audience. In doing so, Geert established the musical genre in Flanders on a structural basis and helped popularize it.

In addition, he collaborated closely with key creative figures from Belgium and abroad. Over the years, director Frank Van Laecke became Music Hall’s resident director, with productions such as Dracula and Oliver, as well as major opera spectacles that later toured internationally. His friendship and collaboration with Franco Dragone were also of great significance. Together, they explored new forms of live entertainment and worked on projects that combined theater, spectacle, and international ambition.

Since 1987, Geert Allaert has produced more than a hundred professional theater and arena productions. His career is characterized by a rare combination of cultural entrepreneurship, artistic boldness, and long-term vision. Even today, he continues to think ahead. In the wake of the pandemic, he has focused on new hybrid cultural forms in which live theater and cinematic content reinforce one another. Guided by this vision, he is working on innovative formats that will go on tour starting in the fall of 2026.

Geert Allaert is and remains, at heart, what he has always been: a cultural entrepreneur and creative producer with an enduring drive to move, surprise, and bring people together.